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Aggro Santos' call for anonymity after rape acquittal

Aggro Santos has called for rape suspects to be given anonymity until conviction. Photo: Daybreak

Former I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! contestant Aggro Santos has called for rape suspects to be given anonymity until conviction.

The call comes 10 days after the 24-year-old rapper was acquitted of two counts of rape.

He told ITV's Daybreak he had been in a "mental prison" for almost two years following the allegations and said his reputation had been "tarnished" by media coverage of the case, despite being acquitted of the charges.

Santos became well-known after making it to the final six in I'm A Celebrity in 2010.

His debut single, Candy, featuring former Pussycat Dolls singer Kimberly Wyatt, shot to number five in the UK charts the same year.

He was accused of raping two girls he had taken back to his hotel rooms after performing at gigs at a club in Yeovil, Somerset, in 2010 and at the University of Chichester summer ball in West Sussex in 2011.

Standing under his real name Yuri Santos, the jury at Chichester Crown Court acquitted him in less than two hours of both charges after a seven-day trial.

His friend and co-defendant, Tyrelle Ritchie, 22, was also found not guilty of oral rape.

The pair had consistently denied the allegations and said the sex with the two women was consensual.

During the seven-day trial the jury heard Santos strenuously deny he had raped anyone.